Mid 2004 Argyll & Bute Council appointed DMH Baird Lumsden as the land and estate agents responsible for selling the estate and premises of Castle Toward, due to its specialty in marketing for residential property. It was to be marketed mid 2005.
When this decision was made, Councillor MacAskill stood down as chair of the meeting for the following reason, as cited in the minutes of the meeting:
Castle Toward Sub-Committee Meeting, Friday 18th June 2004
1. DECLARATION OF INTEREST
Councillor Macaskill declared a non-pecuniary interest in relation to the presentations from potential marketing agents dealt with at item 3 of this minute because a family member was currently employed by one of the firms invited to give presentation. He therefore took no part in the meeting and Councillor Walsh was unanimously appointed chairman for the remainder of the meeting.
Read the entire document here.
Hugh Blake, now Estates Surveyor of Argyll & Bute Council’s Estate Department asserted the desire for the use of land as plots for houses by devising a plan of dividing the 150 acres estate in to lots, and for the property to be marketed in the Spring of 2005. The reasoning behind this was voiced 2003 during the discussions of the lease, the Department believing that not all of the land at Castle Toward was being utilized by Actual Reality, encouraging land requirements to be contested, and as such, sell off the plots it deemed to be available. This method was to allow the prospect of a sale to be legitimized, by implying that only some of the estate be required for this sale venture.
The Draft Local Plan of 2003 proposed the following, concerning the ‘sensitive residential development’, which the Council’s Planners deemed to be ‘no insurmountable problem’:
Gatehouse complex to be potential residential / holiday lets
- Gatehouse complex to be potential residential / holiday lets
- Greenhouse complex and land to rear to be potentially 6-8 houses plus 2 conversions at the greenhouse complex
- Land at the old entrance to be potentially accommodating two new houses
- Further part of land was planned to be retained and marketed at a later date for ‘low-density’ residential development
- Walled gardens to accommodate limited residential development
Concerning Castle Toward itself and the majority of the grounds, it was stated that ‘he [Hugh Blake] / the Council do see maintenance of Actual Reality’s current use as the preferred option’.
This encouraged the establishment of The Castle Toward Trust as a partner of Actual Reality to purchase the estate and premises rather than it be sold and the institution come to an end. The Trust proposed to purchase the parts of the estate required to continue running a successful outdoor centre. It was not the wishes of The Castle Toward Trust for Castle Toward to be dissected, but it endeavored to work with the Council to achieve the best possible outcome.
The minutes of this meeting issue the following statement, in relation to details discussed concerning the finer points of the disposal of Castle Toward:
Castle Toward Sub-Committee Meeting, Wednesday 12th January
The Committee resolved in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to exclude the public for the following item of business on the grounds that it was likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 6 and 9 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
This statement would feature increasingly in the Council official minutes, meaning that Actual Reality – as current tenants and the company supposed to be given preference in bidding – and the public are denied information that the Council deems too sensitive for release.
The Trust asked Councillor Allan MacAskill to reconsider the areas rendered as potential selling plots by the Estate Department, guiding them to what in fact would be more readily and economically serviced areas. This was based on the foresight of a division that would allow a housing estate and an educational facility to coincide as harmoniously as possible. It was noted that there would be serious security and safety threats to consider. The grounds are the children’s classroom at an outdoor education facility, and therefore cars were an obvious concern, in the same manner as schools would challenge permitting members of the public to drive or walk through playgrounds.
Concerns further developed, with Councillor Dick Walsh who favoured the tourist appeal of Castle Toward and declared it should be a place for members of the public to view at their leisure, including teaching time. It became apparent that the Council had no desire for there to be an education facility coinciding with a housing development and that the aim was to sell the estate in its entirety, with the preferable buyer being a property developer.
The next stage of events is 2005 – 2008: The Obstacles in Negotiations to purchase